Alice Evans
STRONG, INDEPENDENT LABOR MOVEMENTS have always been critical to inclusive prosperity. By organizing large-scale, disruptive strikes, workers can secure better pay. The United States, for example, has recently experienced a wave of teacher strikes in which teachers have effectively resisted public education cuts, secured better pay, and inspired hope. Through successful activism, many teachers have become emboldened, realizing they can influence wage negotiations.
Unions work, now and historically. Yet U.S. union membership is at an all-time low, which curbs union efficacy. Without harnessing their strength in numbers, workers struggle to secure wage hikes and resist anti-union legislation. The vicious cycle then perpetuates hopelessness, further discourages unionization, and compounds inequality.